


Doorway To The Dark Age

by jessieBird96



Series: Age of Dragons [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Genetic Engineering, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Time Travel, Two Biological Dads, yes I made that a thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2018-09-18 08:01:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9375629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessieBird96/pseuds/jessieBird96
Summary: All Valkyrie wants is to be free and have her own life. Unfortunately, having two super soldier parents who also happen to be Captain America and the Winter Soldier, don't bode well for her dreams. But when she falls through a portal while on a mission to a time where dragons and vikings ruled the sea and sky, what's a young Avenger to do but strap in and prepare for the ride of her life?





	1. Shimmering

For as long as Valkyrie could remember, her parents had told her that the only sure thing we have in life is knowledge that one day, we will die. A bit morbid, yes, but those words taught Val that life is short, and needs to be treasured. She wanted to travel, meet new people, learn about different cultures, and just experience the world. Unfortunately, being who she was, this seemed like less and less of a possibility as of late. Sure, she'd been training her whole life to be an Avenger like her fathers, and up until about a year ago, she wanted that more than anything. After a harsh mission in the Philippines, however, she'd begun to have doubts. They'd run into Crossbones, and while her parents fought him, she'd been busy trying to evacuate the area when a stray grenade exploded not 20 feet from where she stood, knocking her to the ground. As the darkness receded from her vision, she could faintly hear the sounds of panicked screaming and running, though the ringing in her ears and the burn she could feel scalding her back were at the forefront of her mind. She'd turned her head and seen a young boy, no older than 12, lying motionless in the debris cluttered grass, and as she scrambled to him, she could see he wasn't breathing. 

While the battle raged on, and explosions rang out, all Valkyrie could see was the burned, mangled face and body of this boy, still only a child stolen from this world too soon. That image would forever be seared to Val's memory, and it was one that haunted her most nights. One morning, Uncle Tony even had the courage (or stupidity) to bring it up at breakfast the next day and as she fought to squirm, she saw the knowing looks her fathers' gave each other; they could hear her tossing and turning at night, shouting for someone to save the boy whose name she was never able to learn. She also saw the apprehension, new to their gazes, whenever someone brought up her nightmares, especially her daddy's, for he knew just how horrible a traumatic event like her's could be to relive over and over. He didn't want his daughter to end up like him, haunted and cold, and the realization of this came just before the Avengers siren sounded, signaling some kind of trouble in the world. As they gathered in the briefing room, Valkyrie fought to keep her face passive, as her emotions were a vicious storm of anxiety, terror, and anger. 

While Tony's equipment was doing a routine scan of the Earth, a flare of unearthly energy spiked, causing the alarm to sound, somewhere in Norway. 'Could be another Chitauri artifact. I can't believe we're still finding those all these years later' Valkyrie mused to herself. 

"Okay gang," Steve, spoke, bringing everyone's attention to focus, "As you can see, we have an energy spike in Norway. We don't yet know what caused it, so Natasha and Valkyrie will be going to check it out."

'Wait, what??' "Wait, just me and Aunt Tasha?" Valkyrie inquired, slightly panicked.

"Unless you don't think you can handle it." Her father responded with a slightly goading tone. He'd always challenged her, pushed her to the limit so she came out stronger, but this was the first time that Valkyrie could recall actually wanting to back out of the challenge set before her. She set her eyes downcast as she struggled to find words, and her father just gazed at her, slightly stunned by his daughter's lack of reply. His gaze went to Bucky, his best friend and co-parent to the squirming young woman across the table. Bucky met his stare, looking just as worried as him, and they silently communicated for Bucky to take it from there.

"What is it, Dollface?" He asked gently.

"I-I....I don't know if I can do this." She choked out the words and thought, 'There! I finally said it!'

As Steve and Bucky exchanged shocked looks, the other Avengers slowly shifted out of the room to give the little family some privacy, all of them peeking at her out of their peripheral vision in concern as they moved.

"What do you mean, honey?" Steve inquired carefully, testing the waters of the situation. "You can't do the mission?"

"No...I mean-" Valkyrie couldn't say it. The look on her father's faces were akin to heartbreak and suddenly she found a lie slipping past her lips, "I'm kinda tired. i was up pretty late last night, so I'm not really on top of my game, you know? Someone else should probably go." She'd never felt as blessed to take more after her papa when it came to fibbing than she did then. If she'd taken after her dad, she'd never get away with anything; she'd turn into a blushing, stuttering mess and be doomed.

She was immensely relieved to see both of her fathers' faces relax into indulgent smiles up until her dad spoke.

"Oh, hon, don't worry, it's just a reconnaissance mission, you probably won't even have to get out of the quinjet."

"Oh. Well, in that case..." She stated awkwardly, feeling like she was dying inside. Within an hour she was suited up and sitting grumpily in the copilot seat of the quinjet awaiting her dad's final O.K. to depart the bay, and as his voice came over the comms telling them to take off, Val got a sudden chill down her spine, settling in the pit of her stomach in an unpleasant way. Now officially unsettled, Valkyrie plugged in her headphones and cleaned her weapons( two handguns, a throwing ax, and an assortment of daggers and throwing knives) for the majority of their flight, too worked up to try to talk to her aunt. She'd figure out her trepidation in two seconds flat. At last, as they were on their final approach, Natasha spoke up,

"So, are you sure you're up to this? Because you can stay in the quinjet if you're scared."

A scalding spark of irritation flared in Valkyrie's chest, causing her unease to evaporate in an instant, only to be replaced with indignant anger.

"I never said i was scared!!" She yelled, unable to stop herself, " I am tired! I haven't gotten a decent night's sleep in the better part of a year because I'm plagued with nightmares! All because God forbid Valkyrie not become an Avenger like daddy and papa!! God forbid Valkyrie want to do anything else with her life!!" And, just like she predicted, Aunt Tasha had pulled the truth out of her without ever trying.

"Is that what this is about? You don't know how to tell you parents that you don't want to be an Avenger?" As Natasha spoke, the both of them shuffled to the back of the quinjet where Valkyrie pressed the ramp release to open the door.

"Yeah... I almost told them earlier-but I was too scared. I don't want them to be disappointed in me."

"oh, sweetie, that could never happen. Your fathers love you, and they only want you to be happy. I'm sure they would understand. When we get back, why don't you sit them both down and talk to them? I guarantee you'll feel a lot better to have it out in the air." Natasha reasoned. 

"Yeah, you're right-"

The sensor on Valkyrie's hip started wailing, indicating that they were close to the source of the energy spike, and pulling their focus back on the mission. 

'My last mission if I have anything to say about it.' Valkyrie mused.

As they observed their surroundings, all Val could see were trees, various other plant life, and the base of a small mountain with a small opening just big enough for someone her's or Natasha's size to fit through. As she stepped closer, she noticed the air around the opening seemed to shimmer, like a heat mirage. The darkness seemed to whirl and wiggle, drawing her in. Cocking her head, she stepped even closer, as if in a trance when the sensor on her hip wailed again, causing her to jump in surprise, sending her flailing as she came down on a sharp rock.

"Oww-Ahh!!" Her cry of pain morphed into one of shock as she got sucked into the opening in the mountain base. Sheer terror overtook her heart as she got a feeling of weightlessness, and the last thing she saw was her Aunt Tasha diving a second too late as darkness overtook her.


	2. Say what, now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "speaking"  
> 'thinking'
> 
> I don't own HTTYD or Marvel, just Valkyrie :D

  The first thing Valkyrie took note of upon regaining consciousness was that she was lying face down in what felt like grass, then the throbbing at the base of her skull, followed quickly by a wet sensation on her fingertips. With a weak groan, she pushed herself up into a sitting position with her legs tucked under her thighs.

  Her eyes landed first on the small river that her fingertips had been dipped in, the clear blue water looking more enticing than anything she'd ever seen. Ignoring her thirst though, her training kicked in and she stood to take in her surroundings.

  'I've never seen shrubs like this before... And these trees...' 

  With a light panic setting in, her gaze whipped around trying to find anything familiar. The mountain was still there, but it looked different, darker and more hulking than she remembered. 

 'Ok, Valkyrie, just...remain calm. Remember your training, first things first. I need to scout the area for any danger. Then, find shelter. That is, if there's no danger... Ugh!'

  Giving vent to a frustrated groan, Val set out north to start her little recon mission and started taking note of the foliage and animal life.

  'Hmm, I do actually know some of these plants... but others?'

  Just then, a particular flower caught her eye.

  'Hey, I've only ever see a fossil of that species!' 

  Before she'd even consciously decided to move, her knees were hitting the ground right in front of the vibrant flora, her mind racing a mile a minute. Just as her imagination was getting the better of her, she suddenly heard an undulating roar that sent frozen shivers up her spine.

  'What..Was... That?'

  Scared into silence, Valkyrie sat still as a frozen rabbit while waiting with bated breath for some sign to either relax or run. After a moment, just as her muscles started to relax, a giant reptile burst from the foliage about 30 yards to her left.

  With probably the most shrill scream she'd ever summoned bursting from her diaphragm, she immediately jumped into action, running at top speed for high ground. 

  'What the HELL is that thing!!? It's huge!! And-! Oh my God, why is it opening it's mouth???!'

  Just as the thoughts crossed her mind, she felt heat from behind her and, acting on pure instinct, grabbed the branch she had her eye on and used her momentum to swing up into the air just as the beast let loose a torrent of flames that had Valkyrie shaking and covering her eyes from the sheer blaze of the blast. Just as she was shifting her weight to drop from the tree she had safely landed in, she watched as two more...Dragons, they had to be dragons!- landed nearby and a tall, lanky man with shaggy brown hair and russet armor slid off of the sleek black one and made cooing noises to the beast that has just tried to kill her. While that one made baby noises at a killer reptile, Valkyrie took a moment to observe the other man who had begun ranting at his companion.

  "That was too close, Hiccup! I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe we should send a Terror Mail to Berk for backup."

  Taller than the skinny one, and much larger too, with Sandy blonde hair with a single braid by his ear and a small metal helmet that had little wings sticking out of the sides of it. Their clothes were equally strange, bulky, and rough looking, with boots that just screamed 'handmade'. And what did he call the other one? 'Hiccup'?

  "Hey there big girl... Having a rough day? Oh well, we didn't mean to disturb your nest, so please forgive us the intrusion, we-we'll just be going now!"

And at a lower volume, " Fishlegs, let's get out of here!"

  '...Fishlegs? Surely that's just a mean nickname, right? Fish don't even have legs!'

  At the sound of another ear-splitting roar, Valkyrie suddenly remembered that she was in her own life-or-death situation and made a snap descision that she'd probably regret later. Jumping from the tree and hitting the ground running, she cried out,

  "Wait! Please, help me!"

  As they heard her plea, both of their heads snapped around to see her on the other side of the...dragon. The blond quickly called out to the skinny one,

  "Hiccup! We can't leave her, the Singetails will eat her alive!"

  "They what!???" Val cried in alarm.

  The skinny one jumped on the back of the sleek black dragon with a groan of frustration and the mighty reptile suddenly sailed right over the Singetail with a single bound and came to a stop right in front of her. The man eyed her with a critical gaze. Suddenly he spoke in a slightly nasaly voice,

  "Don't make me regret this."

  And without further ado, he reached down and hauled her onto the dragon's back with surprising strength, and before she could get her bearings, the magnificent creature was running towards the cliff side and just as she was able to finally get a firm grip around Hiccup's waist, they were flying. 

  With a small gasp and no small amount of courage, she pulled her face out of the space between Hiccup's shoulder blades and looked around with an expression of pure awe. They were flying just under the clouds and even though they were almost as high up as they would be in a quinjet (her heart gave a slight squeeze at that thought) she felt it wasn't all that hard to breath, surprisingly.

  Suddenly, the mellow voice of the blonde, Fishlegs, broke the silence.

  "Sooooo... What's your name?" 

  With a fierce blush making its way across her cheeks, Valkyrie stumbled out an apology.

  "Oh! Yes, I'm so sorry! How rude of me, I'm Valkyrie. Valkyrie Barnes, but you guys can call me Val."

  Both young men startled at her name.

  "Wow," Fishlegs exclaimed, "You must be quite the warrior!"

  "Uh, I guess so..." Valkyrie hedged, she was decent enough in a fight, but she still wasn't sure if she trusted these guys, even if they did save her. Best to let them underestimate her for now.

  "Anyway, where are we? Europe? It's really cold, so we're definitely in the northern hemisphere, but east or west?" Val was done being in the dark. She wanted answers, and she was gonna get 'em, one way or another.

  "Uh, we're pretty far north, yea, but what's Europe? And also, what's a hemisphere? I think we could learn a lot from each other!" Fishlegs sounded unsure at first, but as he spoke he seemed to get more excited until he was practically squealing the words.

 "Uh, yeah, sure. Uh, you guys said something about Berk back there, is that where you guys live?"

  "Yeah, Hiccup's chief! And I'm his right hand man! We say a strange light near where we found you, so we went to check it out," Fishlegs gave a small chuckle suddenly,.

  "What's so funny?" Val called over the roar of the wind.

  "Your clothes, they look funny! How can you move in such constricting clothing?"

  A blush fought it's way onto her cheeks despite everything she did to repress it.

  "Hey, you're one to talk, Mr. Lumberjack, what's the axe for? That thing is huge! And what's with your dorky helmet, it doesn't even fit on your head!"

  As the final statement left her lips, she was assaulted with the sound of sudden laughter from just ahead of them. As she turned she was greeted by the sight of a large Jade green dragon with two heads and a yellow underbelly hovering in the air ahead of them, with a pair of twins sitting just behind the twin reptile heads. Both had long blonde hair, though one wore it in braids while the other wore it in dreads with beads decorating the strands here and there. They also had helmets, though theirs had animal horns on them and looked pretty cool actually.

  "Good one, new compadre! Oh, that was good!" The male forced out between hysterical laughter.

  "Yeah, did you see Fishy's face?? Priceless!" The female chortled along with her brother.

  Hiccup sighed and spoke up for the first time since he hauled her behind him.

  "Valkyrie, meet Ruffnut," he gestured to the female, "and Tuffnut" he gestured to the male.

  "Hey" "'Sup?"

  "Hello..."

  "So, Valkyrie, would you like to come back to the village with us, stay for a few days? Maybe we could teach you a thing or two about getting along with dragons!" Hiccup's offer was Heavensent, Val just knew it.

  "Yeah, sure, what could it hurt?" She said.

  And with whoops from the four around her, suddenly the dragon beneath her shifted and dived for the village she could see in the distance below them. A scream lodged in her throat as she once again clung to Hiccup for dear life and then, as suddenly as they moved, suddenly they were still.

  Once her lungs started working again she lifted her head and looked around. What she saw knocked the breath right back out of her. She silently slipped off of the black beauty and with an absent-minded Pat to his back leg, she walked on wobbly legs around the square she found herself in. Surrounded by wooden cottages, giant stone steps and roaring fires, she suddenly heard the sound of metal hammering on metal and it instantly took her back to the days when she used to visit the Renaissance festival with her family. She very clearly remembered what it sounded like, the heat of the fire, watching the skilled men work was one of the most intense moments of her life, it's from one such blacksmith that she got her throwing axe, after all. 

'Nevermind that that was an Asgardian Smith...' 

  And with that thought, suddenly everything made sense. The strange terrain, extinct flora still being alive, Dragons, wooden homes, peg legs, (she added that one absentmindedly as a large man with said peg leg walked out of the forge) and strange clothing, coupled with the weapons choices and existing forge, there was only one explanation.

  "I've gone back in time..."

  

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story in a while, so go easy on me, but I wanna know what you think! Don't be afraid to leave a comment or critique :)


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